Author: Yoon-Ngan CHUNG
Date: 01-23-04 18:38
Chinese surname XIE (謝)
Xie means: express gratitude; thank.
The surname Xie is about 2,700 years old.
It is No.24 on the top 100 of more than 5,000 Chinese surnames in the world.
The surname Xie originated in an area referred to during the Han Dynasty (漢朝 206BC to 220AD) as Chen Liu prefecture (陳留郡). The present day location of Chen Liu prefecture is the Chen Liu town which is near the city of Kai Feng (開封115.1 degree East and 34.7 degree North on the world map) in Henan province (河南省).
In 1122BC, Lu (呂), a descendant of Shen Nong (神農), the chief of the federated tribes in the ancient time, assisted Zhou King Wu (周武王) in destroying the Shang Dynasty (商朝1783BC to 1122BC). Zhou King Wu established the Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134BC to 256BC) and bestowed upon Lu the hereditary title of Bo (伯) or the Count. Zhou King Wu also delegated Lu the authority to rule on his behalf a district called Shen (申) which is located in present day region near the city of Shanghai (上海) in Jiangsu province (江蘇省). Lu was then known as Shen Bo (申伯) or the Count of Shen.
In 878BC Ji Hu (姬胡) was crowned Zhou King Li (周厲王), the 10th King of the Zhou Dynasty, who reigned until 842BC. Zhou King Li married the daughter of the ruler of the state of Shen. Zhou King Li died in exile in 828BC and was succeeded by his elder son called Ji Jing (姬靖) who was installed as Zhou King Xuan (周宣王) whose reign lasted until 782BC.
In 823BC there were incursions into the Zhou territory in the north by the normadic tribe of Xian Yun (玁狁). Zhou King Xuan appointed an official by the name of Ji Yuan (姬袁) to lead a expeditionary force to subdue the northern intruders. Zhou King Xuan also asked his uncle, the ruler of Shen, to send troops to help Ji Yuan. Without much effort Ji Yuan pushed them back to the desert where they belonged.
Zhou King Xuan was very grateful to Ji Yuan and his uncle. In order to show his appreciation Zhou King Xuan not only rewarded Ji Yuan with the hereditary title of Nan (男) or Baron but also bestowed upon him the surname of Fang (方). To his uncle Zhou King Xuan rewarded him the authority to rule a district called Xie (謝), which is in the present day region of Tang He (唐河) town in Nan Yang county (南陽縣) in Henan province (河南省). Zhou King Xuan's uncle renamed this region as the State of Xie (謝國). He was known as Xie Bo (謝伯) and his offspring continued to rule Xie until in 678BC when it was conquered and annexed by the State of Chu (楚國 present day Jiang Ling county 江陵縣 in Hubei province 湖北省). The childern of the last ruler of Xie adopted XIE (謝) as their surname in remembrance of their extinct State.
The couplets of surname Xie are:
東山世澤﹐=Dong shan shi ze
寶樹家聲。=Bao shu jia sheng
and
知足知不足﹐=Zhi zu zhi bu zu,
有為有弗為。=You wei you fu wei.
The interpretation
Be contented of your possession, but
know your deficiency to keep improving.
Spend your effort selectively.
There are things you should do and things you shouldn't.
By the famous Chinese female writer, Xie Wan Ying (謝琬瑩 1902 to ?) who is better known by her penname (筆名) as Bing Xin 冰心.
Prominent persons of the Xie clan are:
(1) Xie Ling Yun (謝靈運 385AD to 433AD)
He was born in Chen Prefecture of Yang Xia (陳郡陽夏 present day Tai Kang county 太康縣 in Henan province 河南省). He lived in the Song Kingdom (宋國) during the period of the North and South Dynasties (南北朝 420AD to 589AD). He was the first Chinese poet of mountain and water poems.
(2) Xie Jin Yuan (謝晉元 1904 to 1941)
He was born in Jiao Ling (蕉嶺) in Guangdong province (廣東省). He was the commander of a regiment of 800 men who fought against the Japanese invasion of Shanghai for several months in 1932.
On the 28th of January 1932 the Japanese marine forces landed on the district of Zhabei in Shanghai (上海閘北)。Jiang Jieshi (蔣介石 Chiang Kai-shek) ordered the 19th army not to resist but pull back. However, the battalion of 800 soldiers under the command of Xie Jinyuan (謝晉元) refused to withdraw. The 800 soldiers put up a stiff resistance against the Japanese superior forces. They fought the Japanes marines for two months until they were forced to withdraw by Jiang Jieshi.
This is the song about the heroism of the 800 brave Hakka soldiers
八百壯士 (The 800 Heroes)
中國不會亡﹐中國不會亡。
你看那民族英雄謝團長。
中國不會亡﹐中國不會亡。
你看那八百壯士孤軍奮守東戰場。
四方都是炮火﹔
四方都是豺狼。
寧戰死﹐不退讓﹐
寧戰死﹐不投降﹐
我們的國旗在炮火中飄盪﹐飄盪.
Xie Jin Yuan's famous couplet is:
養天地正氣﹐=Yang tian di zheng qi,
法古今完人。Fa gu jin wan ren.
(3) Xie Xuan (謝玄 343AD to 388AD)
During the Jin Dynasty (晉朝 265AD to 420AD) the five semi-nomadic tribes of Xiong Nu (匈奴), Jie (羯), Xian Bei (鮮卑), Di (氐) and Qiang (羌) overran the whole of Northern China. This was the period of what the historians called,
"The Five Barbarians and the Sixteen Kingdoms 五胡十六國".
The tribe of Di was originally from the southern part of Gansu province (甘肅省). Its leader was Fu Jian (符堅) who founded the Earlier Qin Kingdom (前秦 351AD to 394AD). He established his capital in Chang An (長安 present day Xi An 西安 city in Shaanxi province 陜西省). He appointed Wang Meng (王猛), a Han-Chinese to be his Prime Minister. He built a highly Sinicized administration and formed a strong Han-Chinese infantry army to accompany his Di cavalry.
In 370AD Fu Jian conquered the Earlier Yan Kingdom (前燕 349AD to 370AD) and Earlier Liang (前涼 345AD to 376AD) in 376AD. As a result of this, Fu Jian occupied the whole of Northern China. He then embarked upon a plan to conquer Southern China which was under the Eastern Qin Dynasty (東晉朝).
In 383AD, Fu Jian led an army of about a million strong marching South with the intention of destroying the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He met the Jin's main forces at Fei Shui (肥水) in Anhui province (安徽省). The commanders of the two armies knew that it was going to be a decisive battle. Fu Jian deployed his troops near the Fei Shui River bank. He wanted his men to have sufficient rest before he ordered them to cross the river to attack the Jin forces.
The Jin Army of only about eighty thousand strong were under the command of Xie Xuan (謝玄). They camped near the river.
Fu Jian observed that the Jin Army were well disciplined with rigid formation.
Xie Xuan saw Fu Jian's army were not ready for battle. They also knew that Fu Jian's forces were an army of aggregated soldiers from many tribes in the north and they were reluctant to fight his war.
A messenger from the Jin side was sent acrossed the river to see Fu Jian and requested him to pull his army back for a few kilometers so that the Jin Army could cross the river to fight the decesive battle. Fu Jian thought that in number his army were ten times more than that of the Jin Army. He had great confident to defeat the Jin Army. He planned to attack the Jin troops when they were half way crossing the river. So Fu Jian agreed and ordered his army to pull back.
As soon as his order was issued there were convulsions in his army. Some of the troops thought that they had been defeated by the Jin Army. Many of them were in panicked shouting,
"The Qin Army are defeated. Run for your lives 秦軍敗了。逃命啊."
There were more confusions in the Qin Army. Thousands of them threw down their weapons and ran for their lives. The panic developed into a stampede.
Seeing that the Qin Army were running, Xie Xuan led a force of about ten thousand men and crossed the river to make a surprise attack on Fu Jian's camps. The Qin Army were in more troubles by the blitz-krieg of the Jin troops. The Qin Army went into panic at the sight of the Jin troops. The Qin Army fled northward. Thousands of the infantry soldiers were trampled to death in the panicking stampede. The fleeing troops were frightened and nervous.
This battle was recorded in history as the "Battle of Fei Shui 淝水之戰"
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
All rights reserved 23012004
Yoon-Ngan CHUNG
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